2017 Musical Programme - Alice in Wonderland jr.

F rom the M usic D irector

Haven’t you noticed we’re all a little mad? This year’s Junior School musical Alice in Wonderland Jr. offers children an opportunity to explore the realms of their imaginations, in a journey of self-discovery through a magical and wacky place we have come to know as Wonderland. Through Alice, children are invited to step into nonsense roles of rabbits living in houses, talking cats, party goers who live by their own rules, sea creatures of talking fish and rock lobsters, co-dependant twins suffering from acute late onset identity crisis, royal cardsmen and terrified subjects, a very zen caterpillar and sassy mean-girl flowers as they tell a story through song. Thank you to the cast, crew, production team and entire company for making my job so much fun, and for your many hours of preparation for this spectacular show. Choosing the Alice cast was not easy. In fact, it was sometimes that the role picked the person, as voices needed to match the character’s set range. The students in the chorus and lead roles have shown continuous enthusiasm, energy and beautiful in tune singing throughout the rehearsal process. It has been a delight to watch children step into their characters and surprise us with their vocal, performance and comedic abilities. The children have shown great initiative in learning the materials for the whole show independently, including musical items which they may not be on stage for. Through learning the songs at home, this meant we were able to use our time efficiently to polish and practise the pieces to the performance standard you are about to see. This talented cast can not only act and dance with enthusiasm, but sing with diction and clarity, blend within a chorus, use expression, breathe appropriately and musically, use accurate lyrics with pitch and rhythm and at the same time sing with a beautiful tone. Lot’s to think about when you are under a spotlight in front of a full house! After learning the music, our cast needed to figure out how their characters would sing, and this sometimes meant thinking outside of the box. We hope you enjoy how our company reveal their individual characters not only with their costumes and staging, but through their voices. It is here that the finale piece Whooo Are Youuu speaks more than words, where Alice has to decide where she fits in. As the audience, you may pick up on a few musical references, including a homage to Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, Disney’s Song of the South and rock/pop song arrangements from Disney’s original 1951 film Alice in Wonderland with lyrics based on Lewis Carroll’s verses. The music in Alice in Wonderland Jr. really helps to set the story of Alice’s madcap adventures – you may in fact sense something unusual is happening before you see anything on stage. Let the music help you interpret and discover each of the characters. What does the music tell you about the Caterpillar? What kind of party do you think the Unbirthday Party is, just by sound alone? How do the subjects feel about their queen? Let your senses guide you as you take a trip down the Rabbit Hole, into a world of your own.

Melissa Black Music Director

2017 Junior School Musical — Alice in Wonderland Jr.

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